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Drought portal - Knowledge resources on integrated drought management

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Zambia

HISTORICAL DROUGHT – Zambia, a landlocked country in Southern Africa, frequently experiences droughts. These events can be localized but last for extended periods. For instance, the Lundazi weather station recorded one of the longest droughts, affecting the Eastern Province for 107 months from January 1969 to November 1977. Similarly, the Livingstone station registered a 107-month drought in the Southern Province from January 1979 to November 1987. Notable severe droughts in Zambia include those in 1991–1992, 2015–2016, and 2019–2020. The latest severe drought in 2024 is potentially one of the worst Zambia has experienced, impacting 84 of its 116 districts across several provinces. Due to the prolonged drought, the President of Zambia declared a national emergency on February 29, 2024. Severe droughts in the country have often coincided with El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events.

Mali 1

DROUGHT IMPACT PATHWAY – Zambia faces severe drought impacts across multiple sectors, including agriculture, mining, manufacturing, water utilities, and health. Drought events have caused widespread crop failures, especially of maize, and livestock deaths in agriculture. Low levels of water in dams and reservoirs lead to hydropower generation losses, resulting in power outages that affect operations in other productive sectors like manufacturing. The mining industry also experiences significant setbacks due to lack of water and power interruptions, further affecting the economy. Food shortages due to low agricultural production sometimes led to widespread famine. The lack of available food during droughts drives up food prices, limiting food access and reducing the household purchasing power, thereby exacerbating poverty. Women and children bear added burden of walking long distances to access water, with children, especially girls, often missing school to fulfill this household responsibility.  The lack of water for drinking and sanitation threatens public health and welfare due to the high risk of water borne diseases and infections.



 



 

Highlights of drought vulnerability dimensions

  • Zambia has 20.5 million people, with 53.7% living in rural areas (2023).
  • 84.3% female literacy rate (aged 15+), compared to 91.0% male literacy rate (2020).
  • 60.0% of the total population and 78.8% of the rural population live below the national poverty line (2022).
  • 48.0% of the total population and 65.1% of the rural population are extremely poor (2022).
  • Poverty rates by province: Muchinga, 82.6%;  Western, 78.6%; Northern, 78.0; Luapula, 77.3%; Eastern, 76.4% (2022).
  • 58.8% of male-headed households are poor compared to 63.4% of female-headed households. Worse conditions are observed in the rural areas where 77.3% and 83.4% of male-headed and female-headed households, respectively, are poor.
  • Poverty rate among households engaged in farming/fishing/ forestry activities is 78.3% (2022).
  • Prevalence of severe food insecurity in the population is 32.1% (2021).
  • Cholera outbreaks are a common occurrence, with the latest outbreak in 2024 recording around 21 000 cases.
  • 29.8% of population is undernourished (2021).
  • There are 106 136 refugees (57%, males; 43%, females) in Zambia (2024).
  • Refugees typically live in the urban areas, refugee settlement areas in Mantapala, Mayukwayukwa, Meheba.
  • Women and children manage the household water situation.

  • Agriculture, forestry, and fishing comprise 2.8% (2023) of the country’s GDP, while the sector accounts for 57.3% of total employment (2022).
  • The following areas were classified with the following livelihood zones:  Central as maize-cotton; Chama-Lundazi, rice; Eastern province, cash crop; Lake Kariba, fishing; Line of rail, commercial farming; Mkushi, commercial farming block; Copperbelt, mining (2014).
  • 61.9% of employed women are in agriculture, compared to 53.7% of employed men (2022).
  • 52.5% female labor participation rate compared to 67.6% male labor participation rate.
  • 48% of economically active refugees in the settlements are engaged in farming as the main source of livelihood (2017).
  • 94% of the electricity production in Zambia is from hydropower.
  • Zambia is rich in copper deposits and is ranked the seventh largest copper producer in the world
  • Copper account for 70% of export earnings (2021)
  • Mining sector is the largest consumer of total electricity generated, at 51%, followed by the domestic sector at 33%.

  • 68.2% of the total population and 51.1% of the rural population use at least basic drinking water services (2022).
  • 36.3% of the total population and 31.5% of the rural population use at least basic sanitation services (2022).
  • 19% of the total population practices open defecation (2017).
  • 47.8% of the total population and 14.5% of rural population have access to electricity (2022).
  • The majority of the rural areas hosting refugee settlements are not connected to the national grid, resulting in household reliance on charcoal and firewood as sources of cooking energy and small solar torches for lighting.
  • Around 4.1% of cropland is equipped for irrigation (2022)
  • Dambos and wetlands are smallholder farmers' primary irrigation water source and 80% use manual bucket irrigation.
  • Installed generation capacity in Zambia is 3 356.6 MW, of which 83% is from hydropower,  9% is from coal, 5% is from heavy fuel oil, and 3% is from solar PV.
  • Around 12MW was added to Zambia’s hydropower capacity in 2023
  • Some small hydropower stations in the country include: Hydro Power Station (1 MW) in Chinsali District, Kasanjiku Hydro Mini Grid (0.64MW) in Mwinilunga District, and Zengamina Hydro Mini Grid (0.75 MW) Ikelenge District.

  • Zambia has a dry season from May to the end of September,  further categorized as cool dry season (May to August) and the hot dry season (September and October). The wet season is from November to April.
  • The north of the country sees more precipitation with an annual average rainfall of above1 200 mm, compared to the average rainfall in the south of less than 800 mm.
  • Agricultural land comprises 32.1% of total land use, of which 15.9% is arable land and 83.9% is permanent meadows and pastures (2022)  
  • 59.8% of the total land area is forest land (2022).
  • Zambia has six major river basins, namely, Tanganyika, Chambeshi, Luapula, Luangwa, Kafue, and Zambezi, which all lie within the Zambezi River and the Congo River transboundary river basins in the region.
  • Zambia has several large lakes: man-made Kariba in the South, lakes Tanganyika and Mweru in the North, and Lake Bangweulu in the interior.
  • Copperbelt province is the site of some of the world’s largest proven copper deposits.
  • There are an estimated 12 505 species endemic in Zambia.

  • Zambia developed their National Drought Plan (NDP) in 2018.
  • Laws and regulations relevant to water, drought risk management, disaster risk reduction, climate change: Emergency (Essential Supplies and Services) Regulations (1988); Water Supply and Sanitation Act (1997); National Policy on Wetlands Conservation (2002); National Disaster Management Policy (2005); National Policy on Environment (2007); Disaster Management Act (2010); National water policy (2010); Water Resources Management Act (2011); Environmental Management Act (2011); Fisheries Act (2011); National Policy on Climate Change (2016).
  • Government agencies relevant to drought risk management: Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit, Emergency Operations Centre, National Disaster Management Committee, Provincial Disaster Management Committee, Provincial Disaster Management Office, District Disaster Management Committee, Satellite Disaster Management Committee (village level)
  • Plans and Strategies relevant to drought risk management: National Environmental Action Plan, Zambia’s Nationally Determined Contribution (2015); National Agriculture Policy 2012-2030; National Agriculture Investment Plan 2014-2018; Vision 2030; Zambia Water Investment Programme 2022-2030; National Adaptation Plan for Zambia (2023); Nationally Determined Contribution Implementation Framework for Zambia 2023 – 2030.

 

AICCRA. 2023. In: Official launch of the Zambia Drought Management System (ZADMS). Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa. [Cited 5 November 2024]. https://aiccra.cgiar.org/events/official-launch-zambia-drought-management-system-zadms#:~:text=1991%2D1992%20drought%3A%20One%20of,to%20food%20and%20water%20shortages.

Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters. 2024. In: Emergency Events Database EM-DAT. Brussels, Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters. [Cited 15 October 2024]. https://www.emdat.be/

FAOSTAT. 2024. In: Land Use. Rome, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. [Cited 07 November 2024]. https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/RL

Fitch Ratings. 2023. In: Zambia’s Copper FDI Deal Positive for Growth and External Liquidity. London, Finch Solutions. [Cited 17 October 2024]. https://www.fitchratings.com/research/sovereigns/zambias-copper-fdi-deal-positive-for-growth-external-liquidity-12-09-2023

IFRC. 2024. Emergency Appeal: Zambia, Africa, Drought Response. Paris, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. https://adore.ifrc.org/Download.aspx?FileId=839004

IHA. 2024. 2024 World Hydropower Outlook: Opportunities to Advance Net Zero. London, International Hydropower Association. [Cited 3 November 2024]. https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:us:6ba5f8fc-5ad3-4d52-a83c-0931ce5fa119

ITA. 2020. In: Zambia Mining and Minerals. Washington, DC., International Trade Administration. [Cited 07 November 2024]. https://www.trade.gov/country-commercial-guides/zambia-mining-and-minerals

Luzi, L., Lin, Y., Bonsuk Koo, B., Rysankova, Dana and Portale, E. 2019. Zambia: Beyond Connections,  Energy Access Diagnostic Report Based on the Multi-Tier Framework. Washington, DC, World Bank. [Cited 07 November 2024]. https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/ar/477041572269756712/pdf/Zambia-Beyond-Connections-Energy-Access-Diagnostic-Report-Based-on-the-Multi-Tier-Framework.pdf

Ministry of Energy Zambia. 2024. In: Energy Sector. Lusaka, Ministry of Energy Zambia. [Cited 17 October 2024]. https://www.moe.gov.zm/?page_id=2198

Ngoma, H., Hamududu, B., Hangoma, P., Samboko, P., Hichaambwa, M. and Kabaghe, C. 2019. Irrigation development for climate resilience in Zambia: the known knowns and known unknowns. Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Food Security Policy, Research Paper 144. https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/303048/?v=pdf

Reliefweb. 2024. In: Zambia's Drought Crisis: Our Response to Food Insecurity and Health Risks. Geneva, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. [Cited 17 October 2024]. https://reliefweb.int/report/zambia/zambias-drought-crisis-our-response-food-insecurity-and-health-risks#:~:text=Economic%20Repercussions&text=Food%20prices%20have%20surged%20by,kwacha%20(the%20Zambian%20currency)

Republic of Zambia. 2018. Zambia National Drought Plan. Lusaka, Republic of Zambia. https://www.unccd.int/sites/default/files/country_profile_documents/1%2520FINAL_NDP_Zambia.pdf

SADRI. 2021. Drought Resilience Profiles: Zambia. Southern Africa Drought Resilience Initiative. [Cited 17 October 2024]. https://knowledge4policy.ec.europa.eu/sites/default/files/sadri_drought_resilience_profile_zambia.pdf

Southern African Migration Management Project. 2020. Livelihoods & Economic Inclusion Strategy 2021-23. Pretoria, International Labour Organization. [Cited 07 November 2024]. https://www.sammproject.org/wp-content/uploads/download-manager-files/Zambia-Livelihoods-and-Economic-Inclusion-Strategy-2021-2023.pdf

UNHCR. 2024. UNHCR Zambia Countrywide Statistics, 31 October 2024. Geneva, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees [Cited 07 November 2024]. https://data.unhcr.org/en/documents/download/112272

World Bank. 2020. Zambia Water Supply and Sanitation Sector Diagnostic: Narrowing the Gap between Policy and Practice. World Bank, Washington, DC. [Cited 17 October 2024]. https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/642721593687952222/pdf/Zambia-Water-Supply-and-Sanitation-Sector-Diagnostic-Narrowing-the-Gap-between-Policy-and-Practice.pdf

World Bank. 2024. In: World Bank Open Data. Washington DC, World Bank. [Cited 17 October 2024]. https://data.worldbank.org/country/zambia

Zambia Statistics Agency. 2018. Compendium Of Environment Statistics, 2015. Lusaka, Zambia Statistics Agency. https://www.zamstats.gov.zm/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Compedium-of-Environment-Statistics-FDES-2013.pdf

Zambia Statistics Agency. 2023. Highlights of the 2022 poverty assessment in Zambia. Lusaka, Zambia Statistics Agency. [Cited 17 October 2024]. https://www.undp.org/sites/g/files/zskgke326/files/2023-10/highlights-of-the-2022-poverty-assessment-in-zambia-2023.pdf

FOCUS on Vulnerability

Vulnerable sectors:
Energy, agriculture, mining, health

Vulnerable population/people:
Rural population, poor population, rural poor, agricultural communities, agricultural households, women, children, girls, refugees

Vulnerable areas/zones:
Wetlands, dambos, Muchinga province, Luapula province, Western province, Northern province, Eastern province, Central province, Copperbelt province, Chama-Lundazi, Lake Kariba, Line of Rail, Mkushi, refugee settlement areas in Mantapala, Mayukwayukwa, Meheba